Author Archives: Jeff Flesch

Unknown's avatar Jeff Flesch 6:00 pm on March 18, 2023
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , mindset, , perserverence, pics, , , ,   

hope grows

I cry
and sometimes the reason
why

eludes me
though

the significance
permeates each cell of the body
and mind

creating a touchstone
of love

and of hope
carrying seeds destined
to take root

and grow

Image by cocoparisienne, Pixabay

Last week, I went to visit my mom and sisters in Los Angeles, and had a wonderful time. It was so good to spend quality time with my mom, and to see my sisters and their beautiful families. We also went up to Camarillo and visited my niece who is studying at California State Channel Islands. A lovely University in the hills of Camarillo.

While trips are nice, it was also lovely to be home, and to visit all of you today. I missed reading and interacting with all of you last week. Because I chose to forgo posting last weekend, I am posting twice this week (tonight, and tomorrow morning, as usual).

Below are some pics from the trip.

Wishing you all a wonderful Saturday, Sunday.

Jeff Flesch

#1 Amazon Bestselling Author of Nature Speaks of Love and Sorrow

Co-Author, #1 Amazon Bestseller, Wounds I Healed: The Poetry of Strong Women

Jan/Feb 2022 Author of the Month, Spillwords Press

#poetry, #family, #feelings, #growth, #hope, #illusion, #life, #los-angeles, #love, #mind-body, #mindset, #pain, #perserverence, #pics, #poem, #reality, #seeds, #transformation

Unknown's avatar Jeff Flesch 6:00 am on March 5, 2023
Tags: , , , , , incomplete, , , , , , publiucation, , , sun's paradox, , vulernability   

the sun’s paradox

I rest my head
in a catalyst of stars

a blanket
nourishing the mind
and the body

the result
of a cherished, and
vulnerable heart

are
memories
brought about
by the sun’s paradox

a song
of complete, and incomplete
and everything
in between

Photo by Darkmoon_Art, Pixabay

Twitter #vss365 prompt words used: catalyst, cherish, vulnerable, incomplete. Follow me on Twitter here.

A Field Full of Flowers, Published at Spillwords Press

Thank you from the bottom of my heart to Dagmara K, and the team at Spillwords Press for their continued support, and for publishing this piece.

A Field Full of Flowers

a field full of flowers…

dreams wake me from beyond, telling tales
of hope and despair
lost
to the stars

as they linger in the sky, just like the last time,
we said goodbye, holding you
close to heart, becomes
needed, and
necessary,

reminiscent….

I would be honored if you would go here, and read the entire poem. Thank you!

Jeff Flesch

#1 Amazon Bestselling Author of Nature Speaks of Love and Sorrow

Co-Author, #1 Amazon Bestseller, Wounds I Healed: The Poetry of Strong Women

Jan/Feb 2022 Author of the Month, Spillwords Press

#poetry, #body, #catalyst, #complete, #heart, #incomplete, #life, #love, #mind, #nature, #poem, #publiucation, #spillwords-press, #stars, #suns-paradox, #vulernability

Unknown's avatar Jeff Flesch 6:00 am on February 26, 2023
Tags: , , archeryintheUK, , calmness, , , , , , ingridwilson, , , , , , , nickreeves, , , perserverance, , , quietude, , , ,   

soldered heart

I see you
in the majestic & the forlorn

a depressive state
bereft
of indifference, and of alienation

tales
of evenings
alone

a soldered heart
wanting to learn more

about peace
and love

a tangent scale to climb
when

hanging
upside down from
the clouds
in the starry sky

Photo by ausbitbank, Pixabay

Twitter #vss365 prompt words used: bereft, evening, solder, tangent. Follow me on Twitter here.

MasticadoresIndia/USA Publications

I am always honored to have my poetry in MasticadoresIndia and MasticadoresUSA. It is a blessing. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Terveen, and Barbara for always supporting my work; and, thank you to each of you for continuing to read, like, and comment on my poems on these two exceptional online magazines.

Here are my two newest pieces.

I would be honored if you would read them when you have a moment, thank you!

Book Reviews

Archery In The UK

A good friend of mine and publisher of #1 Amazon Bestseller Nature Speaks of Love and Sorrow, Ingrid Wilson, released a new book recently. Archery In The UK is a collaboration with Nick Reeves, and is a beautiful and passionate book.

Once I started reading Archery In The UK it was hard to put down. The book mixes poetic forms, inviting the reader on a journey of beautifully flowing language, touching hearts, and minds, and leaving me teary-eyed, joyful, and inspired. It is an amazing collaboration.

I highly recommend Archery in the UK, which you can purchase on Amazon here.

The Light in The Cave

The Light in The Cave, by Tricia Sankey is a wonderful Novela full of richly crafted details, and characters developed with depth, and an intensity that fills the reader with a desire to read more, and more. I enjoyed the way Tricia developed the characters and the plot line in a way that left me guessing as to the story behind the story until well into the later chapters, which is where we find that the characters we’ve come to know and love are not exactly who we thought they were. The Light in The Cave is an amazing work of science fiction. I highly recommend reading this wonderful book.

Jeff Flesch

#1 Amazon Bestselling Author of Nature Speaks of Love and Sorrow

Co-Author, #1 Amazon Bestseller, Wounds I Healed: The Poetry of Strong Women

Jan/Feb 2022 Author of the Month, Spillwords Press

#poetry, #anxiety, #archeryintheuk, #beauty, #calmness, #depression, #determination, #experimentsinfiction, #happiness, #heart, #ingridwilson, #joy, #life, #love, #masticadoresindia, #masticadoresusa, #nature, #nickreeves, #pain, #peace, #perserverance, #poem, #publications, #quietude, #reslience, #review, #sorrow

Unknown's avatar Jeff Flesch 6:00 am on February 19, 2023
Tags: , , , , , extension, extinction, , heart's harmony, , , , petite pen, , , , , ,   

heart’s harmony

There are ways the earth feels
underfoot

an extinction
and extension of self

boiled over
with the last of the snowflakes that
dwell

within bridges
made of surrender
and of love

a predesigned configuration
of

your heart’s harmony
felled

like a star
from the sky above

Photo by AlanFrijns, Pixabay

Twitter #vss365 prompt word used: extinct. Follow me on Twitter here.

Petite Pen Poetry Prompt

Petite Pen is a fun and collaborative prompt that my dear friend, K Hartless posts approximately once a week. If you are interested in inspiring poetry prompts, I recommend checking out K’s website. Usually the Petite Pen prompts are posted on Tuesdays.

Here are a few poems that I’ve written in response to the Petite Pen prompts in the past several months.

I dream
of the space
in between you
and me

a serendipitous feeling

this
unseen majesty
of calm and quiet progress
demanding

we pay attention
and notice

I in wait
calming my spirit, and mind

seeds unadorned
spend time
securely in my heart

shifting
energies

from callous hands
dripping with fever tense
and moist

with tears remorse

I look for you
in the notes, and sounds
dripping

honey, profound

a secret lullaby
washing over my mind

letting limbs of the dead
and old

come alive

with a misty hello
I remember

it is night

and
almost time to say
goodbye

Jeff Flesch

#1 Amazon Bestselling Author of Nature Speaks of Love and Sorrow

Co-Author, #1 Amazon Bestseller, Wounds I Healed: The Poetry of Strong Women

Jan/Feb 2022 Author of the Month, Spillwords Press

#poetry, #awareness, #connection, #destiny, #earth, #extension, #extinction, #heart, #hearts-harmony, #love, #nondual, #oneness, #petite-pen, #poem, #realization, #stars, #surrender, #truth

Unknown's avatar Jeff Flesch 6:00 am on February 12, 2023
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , seeding,   

seeding love

I stare
into the essence of nature
transfixed

by webs
of confusion

leaving me disjointed
with feelings
once held in common
and in season

a hibernation
from pain, and from sorrow

seeding
a living legacy of laughter, and of love
in its place

making
the whole word dissipate

Photo by ausbitbank, Pixabay

Twitter #vss365 prompt word used: hibernation. Follow me on Twitter here.

MasticadoresIndia/USA Publications

I am always honored to have my poetry in MasticadoresIndia and MasticadoresUSA. It is a blessing. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Terveen, and Barbara for always supporting my work; and, thank you to each of you for continuing to read, like, and comment on my poems on these two exceptional online magazines.

Here are my two newest pieces.

I would be honored if you would read them when you have a moment, thank you!

Jeff Flesch

#1 Amazon Bestselling Author of Nature Speaks of Love and Sorrow

Co-Author, #1 Amazon Bestseller, Wounds I Healed: The Poetry of Strong Women

Jan/Feb 2022 Author of the Month, Spillwords Press

#poetry, #clarity, #confusion, #cosmos, #essence, #illusion, #legacy, #life, #love, #masticadoresindia, #masticadoresusa, #nature, #poem, #publications, #reality, #seeding

Unknown's avatar Jeff Flesch 6:00 am on February 5, 2023
Tags: , , , hidden in childhood, , , , , , number 1 best seller, , , , , , ,   

honeycomb

I want to play with the nature
of pain

and hide
the existence of tears
dwelling
within the chambers of change

a doppelgänger
made from the cusp of our love
frosted over
with the nest of

a honeycomb

encircled
by clouds hanging upside down
from

the starry sky above

Photo by FreeCreativeStuff, Pixabay

Twitter #vss365 prompt words used: want, change, doppelgänger. Follow me on Twitter here.

MasticadoresIndia/USA Publications

I am always honored to have my poetry in MasticadoresIndia and MasticadoresUSA. It is a blessing. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Terveen, and Barbara for always supporting my work; and, thank you to each of you for continuing to read, like, and comment on my poems on these two exceptional online magazines.

Here are my two newest pieces.

I would be honored if you would read them when you have a moment, thank you!

OUT NOW! Hidden in Childhood, A Poetry Anthology, edited by Gabriela Marie Milton

Hidden in Childhood, A Poetry Anthology was released this past week, and it skyrocketed to the #1 spot on Amazon New Release for several days. I am honored to have two pieces published in this gorgeous anthology. Thank you Gabriela for always supporting my work, for being an amazing friend, and for continuing to create new opportunities for writers all over the world to have their voices heard, and their stories read.

If you’ve not yet picked up a copy of this gorgeous anthology, please do so with the link above. Thank you!

Jeff Flesch

#1 Amazon Bestselling Author of Nature Speaks of Love and Sorrow

Co-Author, #1 Amazon Bestseller, Wounds I Healed: The Poetry of Strong Women

Jan/Feb 2022 Author of the Month, Spillwords Press

#poetry, #change, #healing, #hidden-in-childhood, #life, #love, #masticadoresindia, #masticadoresusa, #nature, #number-1-best-seller, #pain, #poem, #publications, #sky, #stars, #transformation

Unknown's avatar Jeff Flesch 6:00 am on January 29, 2023
Tags: , author of the year nomination, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,   

2022 Author of the Year Nomination at Spillwords Press, and Reorganizing Possibility, by Jeff Flesch

I am elated, and so very honored to let you all know that I received a nomination this week for the 2022 Author of the Year at Spillwords Press. I am humbled by this wonderful gesture and have written the following poem as a thank you to all of you and to the Spillwords Press editorial team for supporting me, and for making dreams of possibility become reality.

Reorganizing Possibility

Trust in the feelings at dawn
conspiring
to leave you confused about
the nature of pain

and
about the love you see
in every single drop
of rain

falling
over the bloody streets
reorganizing

the possibility of something
great

out
of the melancholy, we once tried to
escape

This poem speaks to the relationship between pain and possibility; simply, through trying experiences, we emerge as something more, something, in many ways, transformed.

Voting is open through January 31 at Spillwords Press. I would be honored and forever grateful if you would vote. Thank you!

Photo by alegria2014, Pixabay

Jeff Flesch

#1 Amazon Bestselling Author of Nature Speaks of Love and Sorrow

Co-Author, #1 Amazon Bestseller, Wounds I Healed: The Poetry of Strong Women

Jan/Feb 2022 Author of the Month, Spillwords Press

#poetry, #author-of-the-year-nomination, #clarity, #confusion, #dreams, #escape, #known, #pain, #poem, #possibility, #realization, #spillwords-press, #transcendence, #trasnformation, #truth, #unknown

Unknown's avatar Jeff Flesch 6:00 am on January 22, 2023
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , watching wicked   

watching wicked

I sit in silence
watching
wicked blues, and greens
arise

across the horizon of mind

a prompt
and nature of cosmos
in, and out of time

days once lost
are now filled with love, and with the
promise

of you close
realizing this truth

I hold tight
and never let you go

Photo by M_Graham, Pixabay

Twitter #vss365 prompt words used: wicked, prompt, day, lost. Follow me on Twitter here.

Prized Possession, Published at MasticadoresUSA

I am pleased to announce that my poem, Prized Possession, is now available at MasticadoresUSA. Thank you, Barbara Leonhard, and the team at MasticadoresUSA for your continued support, and for publishing this piece.

Prized Possession

I look in the mirror
and find
a reflection, known to none, yet
known to all

a persona of nature
and of soul, dancing within
an interlude, a prized possession –
desire…

I’d be honored if you would read the full poem here. Thank you!

Here is the last poetic response to the Nature Speaks of Love and Sorrow: 30 Poems in 30 Days Collaboration that I have written at this time. If time permits, I will write poetic responses to the last 4 or 5 beautiful poems that were submitted to this collaboration.

Rise Again

sitting with the feelings that arise
it was your eyes
I

always looked into
like the sun

among
a shadowed world

grays, mixed with other fragrant
colors

creating
a burgeoning in my heart

when you chose to depart
this plane for another, it kept me
lingering

among the pain and mourning
deep within

though I now realize
this pain wasn’t a sin

so, I rise again

Rise Again was inspired by the poem, The Resurrection of Red by, Camellia.

Jeff Flesch

#1 Amazon Bestselling Author of Nature Speaks of Love and Sorrow

Co-Author, #1 Amazon Bestseller, Wounds I Healed: The Poetry of Strong Women

Jan/Feb 2022 Author of the Month, Spillwords Press

#poetry, #30-poems-in-30-days, #awareness, #colors, #cosmos, #heart, #life, #love, #masticadoresusa, #mind, #nature, #naturespeaks, #poem, #promise, #publication, #realization, #silence, #truth, #watching-wicked

Unknown's avatar Jeff Flesch 6:00 am on January 15, 2023
Tags: , , , confidant, , , hidden dreams, , , love's muse, , , , nurtured, , , , poetic response, , ,   

love’s muse

I stand on a pedestal of
ice, a cold wind blown from afar and
wide

escaping lips
of tender, and delicate
skin

a shift
in consciousness, and
in a history

dosed
with fields of understanding
a common feeling

coming home to roost
in hearts filled with love’s muse

Photo by 12019, Pixabay

Twitter #vss365 prompt words used: shift, history, dose. Follow me on Twitter here.

Hidden Dreams, Published at MasticadoresIndia

I am pleased to announce that my poem, Hidden Dreams, is now available at MasticadoresIndia. Thank you to Terveen Gill, and the team at MasticadoresIndia for their continued support, and for publishing this piece.

Hidden Dreams

There are dreams
hidden
within buildings
towering upon hills

and beneath
the surface of the sky

a transparent beauty…

I’d be honored if you would read the full poem here. Thank you!

Here are two more poetic responses to the Nature Speaks of Love and Sorrow: 30 Poems in 30 Days Collaboration.

Love’s Heights

love is like the tether of
a kite
grasping, and holding tight

the sun
into the heights
it flies

wonderment and awe
fill time, and trepidation does too
arise

a balance of mutually beneficial
allies

riding through the sky

Love’s Heights was inspired by the poem Love’s Trial by Dawn Minott.

Final Sigh

I sit in silence
and ponder the sky

the celestial bodies

linger
in the night
and

in my heart
where

I find the divine

ascending toward infinity, I realize
she

makes love possible in every shape and size
and in every eye

awaiting, am I

the faintest breath

and this, the final sigh

Final Sigh was inspired by the poem, Divine Flight by Layla Todd.

Jeff Flesch

#1 Amazon Bestselling Author of Nature Speaks of Love and Sorrow

Co-Author, #1 Amazon Bestseller, Wounds I Healed: The Poetry of Strong Women

Jan/Feb 2022 Author of the Month, Spillwords Press

#poetry, #30-poems-in-30-days, #awareness, #confidant, #consciousness, #feelings, #hidden-dreams, #hope, #lonely, #loves-muse, #masticadoresindia, #nature, #naturespeaks, #nurtured, #pain, #perspective, #poem, #poetic-response, #publication, #reality

Unknown's avatar Jeff Flesch 6:00 am on January 8, 2023
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , projection, promise and possibility, , scripted truth,   

scripted truth

I rest my eyes
on the sunset, long in shadow
and lost in temptation

I recall
a coddled wall
of memories

where backlash
found safety, a thin membrane
of projection

and a hurled osmosis
of confusion

a scripted truth

of
transmigration, and the cosmosis birth
of you

Photo by PeterKraayvanger, Pixabay

Twitter #vss365 prompt words used: coddle, hurl, script. Follow me on Twitter here.

It occurred to me recently that I’ve not yet shared all of my response poems to the Nature Speaks of Love and Sorrow: 30 Poems in 30 Days Collaboration. Therefore, over the next several weeks, I will share a couple of them each week, along with the poet that inspired my poetic response.

Here are the first two.

Artless Love

they alight on a leaf
tranquil, and made up of a piece
of our love

the broken bits
sewn back together
by the sky

above

restless, and tired
I linger in the alcove

where mist
displays the toxicity of the pain
in my head
and

in my heart

drifting with the wind
I stop
and realize

you
are the one that’s always been
and will always be

dramatized
by the rendition of an artless love

Artless Love was inspired by the poem Butterflies Blue, by Shruthi.

Lonely, and Desolate

confusion abounds inside my head
while I linger along a street
lonely, and

desolate

ambling
toward the sunshine over the horizon
I melt

into
a pool of wonderment
and of awe

awaiting
the stars to appear in the sky
I too

realize
you are at the center of my life
teaching me more
than any book could possibly
confide

the love
you’ve delivered to me
over the course of my life

Lonely, and Desolate was inspired by the poem Stay Away, by Spriha Kant.

Jeff Flesch

Author, #1 Amazon Bestseller Nature Speaks of Love and Sorrow

Co-Author, #1 Amazon Bestseller, Wounds I Healed: The Poetry of Strong Women

Author of the Month, Jan/Feb 2022, Spillwords Press

#poetry, #30-poems-in-30-days, #clarity, #confusion, #cosmos, #healing, #life, #love, #memories, #nature, #naturespeaks, #poem, #projection, #promise-and-possibility, #renewal, #scripted-truth